Organic Crops: Presence of Heavy Metals

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether research has been carried out on the presence of heavy metals in organic crops, particularly potatoes.

Lord Whitty: No UK research of the type described on organic crops has been carried out.

Cormorants

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 24 March (WA 103–04), what was the estimated number of cormorants wintering on United Kingdom fisheries (a) five years ago; and (b) last year; and how many culling licences have been granted in the last calendar year.

Lord Whitty: The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is the scheme which monitors non-breeding waterbirds in the UK. The principal aims of WeBS are to identify population sizes, determine trends in numbers and distribution and to identify important sites for waterbirds. The scheme is run jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
	The most recent estimate of population size in Great Britain in the non-breeding season is 23,000 individuals (using data for the period 1994–95—1998–99). The index of population trend indicates that numbers in winter 2000–01 were slightly lower than in the mid 1990s. It is not possible to determine what proportion of the British wintering population of cormorants occurs on fisheries.
	The annual review of licensed shooting for cormorants for the winter period 2002–03 can be viewed at www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/Reports.htm
	During this period Defra issued 119 licences to allow 603 cormorants to be shot as an aid to scaring. The number of cormorants actually reported to have been shot was 284.

EU Export Subsidies

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they support the proposals by the European Union Trade Commissioner to end subsidies on food and agricultural exports.

Lord Whitty: The Government are committed to the Doha Development Agenda objective to secure substantial reductions in trade-distorting support, including negotiations with a view to phasing out all forms of export subsidy.
	We therefore warmly welcome the initiative of the European Union's Trade and Agriculture Commissioners in writing to their World Trade Organisation colleagues, including the offer to move on export subsidies in parallel with other WTO members, as part of a balanced framework for agriculture.

Civil Service: Election Guidance

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the interests of transparency in the separation of governmental and party political activities, they will set up an independent commission to oversee the activities of the Civil Service, including all statistical and information activities, during future election periods and general election campaigns.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: No. As has been the case under successive administrations, the activities of the Civil Service during election campaigns will continue to be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and with the more detailed guidance issued ahead of each election. Election guidance includes specific advice on statistical and information activities, making clear that in cases of doubt the relevant Head of Profession should be consulted.

European Union Legislation

Lord Lamont of Lerwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Given the reply by the Lord President on 10 May (HL Deb, cols 1-2), whether the statement on the Cabinet Office website that about 50 per cent of major legislation originates in the European Union is correct.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The figure quoted on the Cabinet Office website relates only to those pieces of legislation with a major regulatory impact. This figure is derived from an analysis of regulatory impact assessments (RIAs). The previous question to which the noble Lord refers related to all legislation, the figures for which are not held centrally.

Constitution Hill, London: Cycle Lane

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the estimated cost of the construction of the cycle lane adjacent to Constitution Hill in London.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The works in question are being funded by Transport for London, and the Government do not routinely seek information from TfL about the cost of such local infrastructure improvements.

Air Displays

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What restrictions apply to local authorities or other organisations proposing to operate an airshow.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Air displays in the United Kingdom are regulated through Article 70—Flying Displays—of the Air Navigation Order 2000. The restrictions detailed therein apply to all civil air displays including those organised by local authorities.
	Guidance for the organisers of air displays is contained in the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) Civil Air Publication, Flying Displays and Special Events: A Guide to Safety and Administrative Arrangements  (CAP403); the current edition of which was issued on 29 November 2002, amended in March 2004. It covers all participation, including military aircraft, at civil air displays in the United Kingdom.
	Further guidance for military air displays, and on the participation of military aircraft in civil displays, is contained in Joint Service Publication 550, published by the Ministry of Defence.

Self-invested Personal Pensions

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On the basis of the most recently available statistics, how many self-invested pension plans there are; what are their mean and median net assets; and how many assets there are in the following ranges:
	(a) under £100,000;
	(b) £100,000 to £199,999;
	(c) £200,000 to £299,999;
	(d) £300,000 to £399,999;
	(e) £400,000 to £499,999;
	(f) £500,000 to £749,999;
	(g) £750,000 to £999,999;
	(h) £1,000,000 to £1,499,999;
	(i) £1,500,000 to £1,999,999; and
	(j) £2,000,000 and over.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government do not collect separate statistics on the number of assets of self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs). SIPPs are included with insured personal pensions in Inland Revenue tax relief statistics.

Civil Partnership: Public Service Pensions

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What would be the total estimated financial cost of making survivor pension benefits for civil partners retrospective in public service pension schemes; and what are the assumptions upon which this estimate is based.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government Actuary's Department's estimates the impact of civil partnership on public service pension schemes using as far as possible the normal actuarial assumptions on demographic and financial factors it considers appropriate for these schemes. But a key unknown factor is the level of civil partnership formation among members of these schemes. The regulatory impact assessment published on 31 March 2004 illustrates the impact of different levels of take-up and explains the underlying assumptions and uncertainties. The capitalised cost of the high take-up case in the RIA was estimated by GAD at £300 million if civil partnership rights applied to all the past service of the relevant scheme members. However, the costs could be higher or lower than the ranges illustrated depending on take up. For example, if the propensity of same sex couples to register matched that of opposite-sex couples to marry, this cost would be around £3 billion.

Lottery Funding for the Voluntary and Community Sector

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they have taken to ensure that future arrangements for funding voluntary and charitable organisations with lottery funds recognise, and seek to enhance, the role of such organisations in (a) global as well as domestic spheres; (b) public education and advocacy; (c) research; (d) innovation and risk taking; (e) originality; (f) creativity; (g) acting as catalysts; and (h) other similar priorities.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Following the merger of the New Opportunties Fund and the Community Fund, the Big Lottery Fund will continue funding for the voluntary and community sector. We have made clear our commitment to at least maintaining the current percentage share of funding for the sector, and to continuing to provide grants for UK charities working overseas. We expect the Big Lottery Fund to be a force for innovation, championing creativity and new ways of working, and mobilising voluntary effort.

Housing for Key Workers

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance is available to (a) midwives; and (b) other key workers with regard to housing in (i) Manchester; and (ii) elsewhere in England.

Lord Rooker: In 2003–04, £21.4 million was allocated through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme to provide homes for rent and low cost home ownership in Manchester for people in housing need generally, rather than key workers in particular.
	In addition, the £69 million key worker living programme is helping key workers, including midwives, into home ownership and intermediate rented accommodation in London, the south-east and the eastern regions where the high cost of housing is contributing to difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled staff in key public services.
	The assistance available under the programme is:
	(a) equity loans of up to £50,000 to buy a home on the open market or a newly-built property provided by a registered social landlord;
	(b) shared ownership of newly built properties where a share of the property is purchased and a reduced rent is paid on the remaining share;
	(c) intermediate renting of newly built properties where the rent is set at a level below market rents;
	(d) equity loans of up to £100,000 for some school teachers in London with the potential to become leaders of London's education sector in the future.
	Key workers are also being assisted through the Housing Corporation's Challenge Fund scheme in London, the south-east and eastern regions which is providing newly built homes for rent and home ownership.
	These programmes are in addition to any accommodation provided by employers for their staff.

Windfarms

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the total public subsidy given to (a) onshore; and (b) offshore wind farms; and what is the cost of the subsidy per megawatt.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Direct subsidies for renewables have only occurred in the form of capital grants. These have been awarded only for offshore windfarm sites—a total of £117 million for the 12 Round 1 offshore sites, amounting to approximately £7 million to £8 million for each MW of capacity.
	The other forms of support come from the renewables obligation, our main renewables support mechanism, and the climate change levy, a tax on commercial energy use from which renewable energy is exempt. However, these are not direct subsidies but effectively allow the supply companies to pass the costs of compliance on to consumers. Support is provided for each MWh of renewable energy that is generated and the costs to consumers are roughly £30/MWh under the renewables obligation and £4.3/MWh under the climate change levy. However, this is only an approximation, as supply companies do not necessarily pass all of these costs through to their customers.
	Due to this, it is difficult to quantify the total level of support for wind energy from these mechanisms. However, assuming all renewable energy generated from wind since the start of the renewables obligation (April 2002) up to December 2003 received support under both the renewables obligation and the climate change levy, the total level of support would be, very approximately, £65 million for onshore wind and less than £0.5 million for offshore wind.

NHS Modernisation Agency: Osteoporosis and Falls Work

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, and if so how, the National Health Service Modernisation Agency's collaborative work, specifically in the area of osteoporosis, will be taken forward following the downsizing of the agency in April 2005.

Lord Warner: A number of strands of work undertaken by the NHS Modernisation Agency and the National Primary Care Development Team have impacted upon the area of osteoporosis. This work is linked to the delivery of the National Service Framework for Older Poeple, in particular Standard 6 on Falls: their prevention, improved diagnosis, care and treatment, rehabilitation and long-term support, leading to an integrated falls service by April 2005.
	The Fractured Neck of Femur Programme, led by the Modernisation Agency, involved minimising delays, improving outcomes and improving patient focused care. A number of teams from the second Fractured Neck of Femur Programme championed work around osteoporosis management. That programme finished in March 2003, but the work has continued locally.
	The National Falls Collaborative, run by the National Primary Care Development Team, was a service led approach to reducing falls and the impact of falls on individuals, services and the community. This programme completed in December 2003, and resulted in many excellent initiatives around bone health and reducing falls. The impact and learning is to be disseminated via the National Service Framework for Older People.
	The Healthy Communities Collaborative is a community-led approach to reducing falls and integrating falls services within a geographical community. The Healthy Communities Collaborative is funded until March 2006 and will be taken forward by the National Primary Care Development Team.
	By April 2005 the NHS Modernisation Agency will transfer most of its staff to modernisation within local settings. The Modernisation Agency will be succeeded by a new, smaller national organisation, which will preserve a strong central focus on modernisation and innovation in the NHS. The Modernisation Agency's devolved staff will be well placed to provide any necessary on-going support to the local services that will have been established.

Department of Health: "Arm's Length Bodies"

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 11 May (WA 32), when the Department of Health's review of its executive non-departmental bodies, special health authorities and executive agencies will be completed.

Lord Warner: We expect the review to be completed before the Summer Recess.